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ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING HIGHLIGHTS WEEK ENDING JULY 28, 2017

ACCOUNTING HIGHLIGHTS:

TREASURY DEPARTMENT

July
20: The Senate Finance
Committee approved David J. Kautter, President Donald Trump's choice to be
assistant secretary for tax policy at the Treasury Department. The unanimous
vote allows the nomination to go to the full Senate. If confirmed, Kautter will
play a key role in shaping tax policy as Republicans work to overhaul the tax
code.

SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

July
20: The Securities and Exchange
Commission cut its rulemaking agenda by about half, according to the agency's
semi-annual regulatory docket. “Mr. and Ms. 401(k) would not be happy about the
new regulatory agenda published by the SEC today,” Dennis Kelleher, president
and chief executive officer of Better Markets, said. “While it includes some
important items that may improve our markets and protect investors, it falls
far short of achieving the kinds of Main-Street-Investor oriented goals that
the SEC exists for.”

ETHICS

July 21:
Less than a third of corporate executives polled by Deloitte are confident that
their employees will blow the whistle on unethical behavior. “If there was one
area that I felt was worrisome, it was that statistic,” Carey Oven, a risk and
financial advisory partner at Deloitte & Touché LLP, told Bloomberg BNA.

GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING

July 22: State
and local governments will be getting answers to hundreds of questions on how
they are to apply accounting for non-pension retiree benefits. The Governmental
Accounting Standards Board proposed about 507 questions and answers in an
implementation guide to clarify, explain or elaborate accounting and financial
reporting for Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions (OPEBs).

DISCLOSURE

July 22: Companies trying to make sure minerals in computer chips,
jewelry, and other products don't fuel conflict in Africa still struggle with
identifying their source. Two-thirds of companies that submitted conflict
minerals reports to the SEC this year didn't say where their minerals were
mined. That's essentially unchanged from last year and the year before.

CAPITAL FORMATION

July 23: U.S. regulators said they have
jurisdiction over one of the hottest new areas of finance: initial coin
offerings of digital currencies. Companies that raise money through the sale of
digital assets must adhere to federal securities laws, the SEC said. Issuers
must register the deals with the government unless they have a valid excuse, as
should exchanges that offer trading of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether,
the regulator said.

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION

July 23: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
wants feedback from the pension community on regulatory and deregulatory
actions, the agency said. The agency listed 13 questions, most of them aimed at
garnering feedback on the administrative burdens that plan sponsors face. The
PBGC is asking the public to weigh in on whether there are PBGC regulations
that eliminate jobs or inhibit job growth.

ACCOUNTING
STANDARDS

July 24: Advocates for block chain technology and
the digital currencies it supports told Bloomberg BNA those databases can't
meet their potential in U.S. capital markets unless the U.S. standard setter
fashions accounting rules specifically for them. “We have many companies that
are members of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. They're operating in the block
chain ecosystem and if they're holding or have on [their] balance sheet digital
assets, they cannot get audits” said Perianne Boring, founder and president of
Chamber of Digital Commerce. “They're having a very, very difficult time
obtaining an audit”

DIGITAL CURRENCY

July 24: The cryptocurrency world is breathing a
sigh of relief after U.S. regulators finally weighed in on initial coin
offerings, saying that companies which raise money through the sale of digital
assets must adhere to federal securities laws.

CYBERSECURITY

July 24: SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said that if
companies act responsibly to protect themselves and makes disclosures on
cyberattacks, regulators shouldn't “be punishing them for being a victim.” Clayton's remarks come as corporate fears
over data breaches continue to increase.

July 22: Russia's
tax agency will start releasing businesses’ tax and financial reporting
information in an effort to allow market participants to improve their
risk-assessment on selecting business partners. This will include information
on back taxes and tax violations, as well as information on membership in
consolidated groups and special tax regimes that businesses are allowed to use.

SUSTAINABILITY

July 23: The European Commission backed
recommendations to curb climate risk that could include European Union labels
for green bonds and preferential treatment for ecologically sustainable
investments. Green bond labels could be a “powerful tool” to help investors
choose assets that are reducing greenhouse gas emissions, said Valdis
Dombrovskis, the commissioner in charge of financial-services policy.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

July 24: The U.K. government must act to
safeguard the nation's accounting and auditing quality as part of negotiations
on its divorce from the European Union, the nation's financial-reporting
authority told Bloomberg BNA. The U.K. Financial Reporting Council said that
the government in some cases should consider intermediate accounting and
auditing policies once the U.K. leaves the EU.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

July 24: The U.K.
accounting regulator wants companies to include in their financial reports
information about any significant impacts that the country's departure from the
European Union could produce. “When Brexit risks are material, we encourage
companies to disclose these as part of their principal risks and uncertainties
in the strategic report,” the U.K. FRC told Bloomberg BNA.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

July 24: U.K. regulators
set out plans for ensuring senior staff of financial-services firms can be held
to account for misconduct on their watch, extending rules already in place for
banks to almost all firms. Senior managers’ responsibilities will be clearly
set out so that they can be held responsible for their own and their staff's
actions.

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